Selective signal for telephone-circuits



(No Model.)

H. W. MASON. SELEOTIVE SIGNAL FOR TELEPHONE GIRGUITS.

No. 581,561. Patented Apr. 27, 1897.

d Wm

lhvrrnn STATES PATENT @riucn.

HENRY \V. MASON, OF NElV BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

SELECTIVE SIGNAL FOR TELEPHONE-CIRCUITS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 581,561, dated April 27, 1897. Application filed July 31, 1896. Serial No. 601,188. (No model.)

To all whom it puny concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY V. MASON, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Bedford, in the county of Bristol and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Selective Signals for Clelephone'Oircuits, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a cheap and simple device adapted to be attached to a telephone instrument, by means of which the call-bell of any particular subscriber may be rung from the central station without ringing the call-bell of any other subscriber.

To this end my invention consists in a switchboard arranged vertically and provided with a series of inclined parallel ways having their upper ends provided with switchpoints and their upper sides with contactpieces, one of which constitutes one terminal of a bell-circuit; a circuit-closer adapted to be moved over said board and switched into contact with either of said contact-pieces and resume its normal position by gravity, and improved means adapted to be actuated electrically, whereby said circuit-closer is raised over said switchboard to any desired extent and released to close the bell-circuit of any particular subscriber.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation. Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3 is a top view. Fig. Al is a side View of the armature-lever and ratchet, by means of which the cireuit-closer is raised and released. Fig. 5 is a view in cross-section of the switchboard through the line a. Fig. 6 is a view in cross-section of the circuit-closer guide or carrier through the line y y.

Similar letters and numerals refer to similar parts in the several views.

The letter 6 indicates a switchboard of noneonducting material, arranged vertically, having a series of inclined ways 6 provided with non-conducting switch-points e pivoted at the upper ends, and metallic contact-pieces e on their upper sides.

Each of the contact-pieces e are preferably connected with one of the binding-posts 1 2 3 4 5 at the top of the switchboard. Thus the lower contact-piece e, or No. 1, is connected with -Ne. 1 binding-post, the next, or No. 2,

contact-piece is connected with No. 2 binding-post, and so on.

The letter m indicates a bell-circuit one terminal of which is one of the contact-pieces 6 the other terminal being the circuit-closer 61 the circuit from the bell being through the metallic guide 9, the slide (1 guide (1 and circuit-closer d.

The slide (Z is adapted to move freely up and down in the guide g, carrying the guide (i close to but not in contact with the surface of the switchboard.

The circuit-closer d is adapted to move freely from end to end of the guide (1 when actuated thereto by coming in contact with the upper or under side of the inclined ways 6 Thus when the slide (1 is raised the circuitcloser in the horizontal guide (1 is caused to traverse along the under side of the lower or N o. 1 inclined way until it comes in contact with its switch-point, which yields and allows said circuit-closer to pass, after which it resumes its normal position by force of gravity. If said slide is now released, the slide and guide drop by the force of gravity and cause the circuit-closer to traverse the upper side of said way or contact-piece thereon and resume its normal position at the bottom of said switchboard. If new the bell-circuit m be connected with the switchboard, as represented in Fig. 1that is to say, one terminal being the contact-piece 011 the third inclined way from the bottom or No. 3and the slide d is raised until the circuit-closer d has passed the switch-point on said way and is then released, said slide will drop to its normal position by the force of gravity, and while so doing will cause the circuit-closer d to traverse the contact-piece on said way, and thus close the bell-circuit and ring the bell. If the slide d is released after the circuitcloser has passed any other switch-point, the bell will obviously not be rung, because no other contact-piece is connected with said bell-circuit. It is designed that each subscribers telephone instrument shall be supplied with one of the devices illustrated, connected with a bell-circuit. Thus No. 1 subscriber will have his bell-circuit connected with No. 1 contact-piece on the lower inclined way, No. 2 subscribers bell-circuit will be connected with No; 2 contact-piece on the next to the lower or No. 2 inclined way, and so on. The connection is made by carrying the circuit-wire to No. l, 2, 3, 4:, or 5 bindingpost,which posts represent the contact-pieces 6 (being connected therewith) in their order from bottom to top.

I will now proceed to describe the 1nechanism, adapted to be actuated by an electromagnet, by means of which the circuit-closer d is raised to any desired point on said switchboard and released to close the bell-circuit of any particular subscriber.

A pulley d is made fast to a shaft a just beneath the traverse of the slide (1 and is connected with said slide bya chain or-band d. A ratchet-wheel Z) is also made fast to the shaft a. A lever 5 pivoted at b has its upper end provided with a spring-impelled pawl adapted to take into the ratchet b. The lower end of said lever 12 is provided with an armature b adapted to be acted upon by an electromagnet c, which is connected electrically with the central station or main line. A spring 8 serves to bring the armature b to its normal position after being acted on by the electromagnet. A disk a carrying a spring-impelled pawl adapted to take into a ratchet-wheel ct, is made fast to the shaft a.

' The ratchet a, together with the gear-wheel a, is mounted on a sleeve which turns easily on the shaft to. The gear-wheel a is connected through a chain of gears with the fly a lVh'en the armature b is in its normal position, the hook of the pawl b lies just outside of the line of teeth on the ratchet b.

The operation of the device is as follows: One impulse of electricity from the central station through the electromagnet will cause the armature to be attracted, and thereby cause the hook of the pawl b to take into the ratchet Z) and revolve it one tooth and consequently raise the circuit-closer a certain distance.- \Vhen the armature is released by the breaking of the current, the pawl of the disk a takes into the ratchet-wheel a and begins to set the train of gears and fly in motion because of the force exerted on the pulley d by the slide d guide d and circuitcloser d; but before the motion has proceeded appreciably (being retarded by the fly) another impulse is given through the magnet, and the ratchet b is revolved another tooth and the circuit-closer is raised another degree, and so on until the required number of impulses to raise the circuit-closer above the required switch-point has been given, when the circuit-closer traverses the desired contact-piece, closes the bell-circuit,and rings the bell for a moment (or during the time consumed by the circuit-closer in traversing said contact-piece) and resumes its normal position under the lower inclined way, guided thereto by the incline h.

In a device having the proportions illustrated three impulses of electricity from the central station through the electromagnet will raise the circuit-closer above the switchpoint of No. l contact-piece, four impulses will raise it above the switch-point of No. 2 contact-piece, five influences will raise it above the switch-point of No. 3 contact-piece, and so on. Thus three impulses will raise the circuit-closer of each subscriber on the line above the switch-point of No. 1 contact-piece, and if the impulses then cease each circuitcloser will traverse No. 1 contact-piece; but as No. 1 contact-piece of No. 1 subscriber only is connected with a bell-circuit No. 1 subscribers bell only is rung. To call No. 2 subscriber, four impulses from the central station are given, and the circuit-closer of each subscriber on the line is raised above the switch-point of No. 2 contact-piece; but as No. 2 contact-piece of No. 2 subscriber only is connected with a bell-circuit No. 2 subscribers bell only is rung, and so on.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by LettersPatout, is-

1. In a selective signal, for telephone-circuits, a vertical switchboard, provided with a series of inclined parallel ways, having their upper ends provided with switch-points, and their upper sides with contact-pieces, one of which constitutes one terminal of a bell-circuit; a circuit-closer, adapted to be switched by said -switch-points, to traverse either of said contact-pieces; a circuit-closer carrier, adapted to be raised vertically over said inclined ways, and when released, to resume its normal position, by gra ity; and means whereby said carrier is raised to any desired point on said switchboard, and released, substantially as shown and described.

2. A selective signal for telephone-circuits, consisting of the switchboard 0, arranged vertically, and provided with a series of inclined parallel ways 0 having switch-points c pivoted at their upper ends, and contact-pieces e, secured on their upper sides, each adapted to be connected with and form one terminal of a bell-circuit; a circuit-closer cl, forming the opposite terminal of the bell circuit, adapted to be raised on said board, and switched into contact, with either of said contact-pieces, and resume its normal position by the force of gravity; a circuitcloser carrier 61 a pulley d, rigidly secured to a shaft and flexibly connected with the carrier of said circuit-closer, whereby, when said pulley is revolved in one direction, the carrier and circuit-closer, are raised on said board, and when released, the pulley, carrier, and circuit-closer will resume their normal position, by the force of gravity; aratchet-wheel b, secured to said pulley-shaft; a pivoted lever b having one end provided with a springiinpelled pawl adapted to take into the teeth of the ratchet b, and the other provided with an armature b an electromagnet c, electrically connected with the central station, adapted to act on said armature, and actuate said lever and pawl to revolve said ratchet b, and pulley, in one direction, whereby when said magnet attracts said armature, said ratchet is revolved one tooth, and when said armature is not attracted, said pawl occupies a position outside the line of teeth on said ratchet, and leaves said ratchet and pulley, free to revolve in a reverse direction; the disk a fixed to the pulley-shaft, and carrying a spring-impelled pawl adapted to take into the ratchet-wheel a; the ratchet-wheel a, and the gear-wheel a, fixed to a sleeve adapted to turn freely on the shaft of the pulley d; a train of gears, connecting the gear-wheel a, with the fly a and the fly ('6 whereby the sudden reverse movement of the ratchet Z), and pulley d, afterbeing acted upon by the lever 19 is retarded sufficiently to allow the pawl Z), to engage with another tooth of the ratchet b, and revolve said ratchet and pulley the distance of another tooth, and raise said circuitcloser another degree on said switchboard, substantially as shown and described.

3. In a selective signal apparatus, in combination, an electromagnet; an armature-lever and pawl adapted to be actuated by said magnet; a ratchet-wheel, adapted to be rotated in a forward direction by said pawl, and free to rotate in a reverse direction when not acted on by said pawl an electric circuit, having one terminal adapted to be brought into contact with the opposite terminal, by the rotation of said ratchet-wheel and means substantially as described, to retard the sudden reverse movement of said ratchet-wheel after being rotated by said pawl, while free moderate reverse movement is allowed, substantially as shown and described.

HENRY W. MASON. \Vitnesses:

JAMES ANDREWS, O. O. MASON. 

